Cold Light Of Day
by LE McMurray
Summary: Jack notices Daniel withdrawing from them all.


Author's Notes:- Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.

* * *

The small shaft of sunlight cut through the curtains slicing through him. Daniel turned over to get away from it. Automatically his hand moved over to pull his wife into an embrace so he could bask in her warmth and love. The cold empty space brought reality crashing down around him. Curling into a tight ball Daniel tried to fight the tide of loneliness that was threatening to consume him. After about ten minutes he managed to contain it, pressing it into a small corner of himself and got up getting ready to go to the base.

x

Jack watched Daniel throughout the briefing worriedly. He'd been very withdrawn over the past few days and Jack had no idea what was wrong.

The moment Hammond said the meeting was finished Daniel was up and out of the room almost instantly.

"Was it something I said?" Hammond asked.

Jack shrugged, "There's something bothering him."

"The loss of his wife?" Teal'c suggested quietly.

"No," Jack disagreed, "He's been coping with that pretty well. There's something else."

"I have an idea," Sam confessed.

The three men looked at her questioningly.

"Well Captain?" Jack demanded.

"When we were on Chulak," Sam started, "You remember I told you we destroyed the tank full of larva?"

Jack nodded.

"Well what I left out was how it happened," she swallowed, "I was about to walk away and Daniel followed me before he turned and shot the tank."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow as Hammond and Jack stared at her in shock.

"Daniel? Our Daniel, blew away a tank full of Gould larva?" Jack demanded.

Sam nodded sadly, "With a vengeance."

Jack sighed, "I'd better go talk to him."

Hammond nodded, "Good idea Colonel."

x

Daniel rested his head against his hands and tried taking a few deep soothing breaths. It didn't work, he still felt stressed.

"Carter said you started taking pot-shots," Jack said walking in and dropping into the spare seat.

"Go away," Daniel said sharply, "I'm busy."

"Tough," Jack replied, "What's wrong?"

Daniel's ice blue eyes fixed coldly on him, "What the hell do you care?"

"I care one of my team is having problems."

"Sure, your team," Daniel snapped back sarcastically.

Jack sighed, "Daniel whatever is wrong, tell me."

"Wrong?" Daniel asked, "Wrong? What could be possibly wrong in my life?"

Jack frowned, "Daniel…"

"No, wait I know," Daniel continued his voice falsely cheery, "My wife and brother in law are both under the control of parasites that are putting them through hell and there's not a thing I can do about it."

"That's not why you've been hiding from us Daniel," Jack said, "I know."

"You know?" Daniel glared at him, "You don't know me Jack. If I hadn't been forced back to this…place we wouldn't have to tolerate each other."

Jack sighed; this was going to be tough.

"Daniel, I'm not tolerating you," he told him, "I'm your friend. Talk to me."

"About what?"

Jack kept calm in the face of his friend's anger, "About whatever's wrong. I know you miss Sha're. I'd have to be deaf, dumb, blind and on the other side of the planet not to know that but I also know something else is going on in that head of yours."

"Carter said they were innocent," Daniel said after several minutes of silence, "But they weren't."

"So you blew them away?"

"It was one of those, a youngster that took Kawalsky from us," Daniel said softly before looking slightly embarrassed at his phrasing, "I barely knew the guy but I counted him as a friend. One of the very few."

"He would have been honoured to know that," Jack smiled softly, "He was very impressed by you when you got us home."

"Not so impressed before that," Daniel grimaced remembering back.

"Daniel, you made a decision," Jack told him, "You have to remember that those things would have taken an innocent life."

"Like Sha're."

"And Skaara," Jack finished, "And Kawalsky. That's why we're going to stop them."

"So you're saying I did the right thing?"

"I would have done it," Jack said, "But maybe next time you should go for a quieter method. Poison in the water."

Daniel laughed and Jack stood to go.

"One more thing Daniel," Jack said as he stood at the door, "I am your friend. If something is bothering you I want to help. I'm here to help."

Daniel's mouth curled in a small smile as Jack started to leave.

"Jack," he called.

"Yep?"

"Thank you."

Jack grinned and left him alone.


End file.
